Sewing-machine cloth-presser.



m. 696,012. Patented Mar. 25, I962.

a. H. nmoun & w. F. DIAL. SEWING MACHINE CLOTH PBESSER.

(Application filed Oct. 31, 1901.)

(No Model.)

5 2 Z p-y/gENZOHS f 9% a M A TTOBNE Y rates Parent OFFICE;

GEORGE H. DIMOND AND IVILBUR F. DIAL, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNORS TO "WHEELER & WILSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT,CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SEWING-MACHINE CLOTH-PRESSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part @f Letters Patent No. 696,012, dated March25, 1902.

Application filed October 31, 1901. Serial No. 80,693. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE H. DIMOND and WILBUR F. DIAL, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfieldand State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Sewing-Machine Cloth-Pressers, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in sewing-machine cloth-pressers,and has for its special object to provide a duplex clothpresser for usein connection with sewing-machines provided with a four-motion feed.

As is well understood, the operation of a four-motion feed requires avertical movement of the cloth-presser for each feed movement, and theextent of the vertical movements of the cloth-presser corresponds subzostantially with the vertical movements of the feed-dog.

In the operation of high-speed sewing-machines the ordinarycloth-presser fails under certain circumstances to meet the desired requirements. For example, in the operation of sewing-machines capable offorming three thousand or more stitches a minute it is essential thatthe control of the pressure of the cloth-presser shall be distinctlydifferent in passing over scams or substantially increased thicknesses,on the one hand, and in the seaming of the plain surface of the materialand that change in such control of the pressure shall be automaticallyaccomplished.

A spring controlled vertically arranged presser-bar provided at itslower end with the usual cloth-presser is common to sewingmachinesgenerally, and it is also old to provide a presser-bar with two presserscapable of independent vertical movements, as in machines 'forhemstitching. In high-speed work the spring-actuated presser-bar ofordinary construction fails to respond quickly enough without employinga spring-pressure so strong that great injury is done to the material bythe pointed teeth of the feed-dog in rising and lifting the materialagainst such pressure. On the other hand ,should the spring-pressure bedecreased to a degree where no injury would be wrought by the feed-dogto the material the feed of the latter would be unimpaired until a highrate of speed is attained, when by reason of the force with which therising fieeddog strikes the under side of the presser-foot through thematerial the moderate spring-pressure actuating said foot is unable toovercome the momentum of the comparatively heavy bar until the forwardmovement of the feed-dog has been completed and said dog withdrawnbeneath the throat-plate. The eifect of this action of the feed-dog onthe ordinary'feedbar and presser-foot is to keep the latter practicallysuspended in the air over the material, the successive shocks of thefeed-dog against the bottom of the foot occurring so fast that thelatter does not have time to fully recover from one blow before itreceives another, and hence the material will simply remain stationarybeneath the foot.

The present invention is designed to meet the conditions above mentionedwhich we believe to be advantageous in the operation of high-speedsewing-machines and it consists, essentially, in an auxiliarypresser-foot applied to a main presser-bar, each having its ownindependently-acting spring, so that in sewing plain surfaces or seamsof usual thick ness the auxiliary presser will suflice, and when sewingextraordinary thicknesses the spring of the auxiliary presser will becompressed substantially to its limit of resilience or activity and thespring of the main presserbar will be brought into active operationuntil the extraordinary service is ended and the ordinary stitchingresumed, all as we will proceed now more particularly to set forth andclaim.

In the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating our invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is an endelevation of a Wheeler & Wilson high-speed sewing-machine with thefaceplate removed and equipped with our improved cloth-presser. Fig. 2is a perspective view of our improved cloth-presser and part of thepresser-bar detached from the machine. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of ourimproved cloth-presser, illustrating particularly the means for holdingthe auxiliary presser-bar against turning. Fig. 4: is a perspective Viewof the auxiliary presser-bar detached. Fig. isa perspective view ofsurmounted by the overhanging arm 2.

3 is the main vertical presser-bar, mounted within said arm in the usualor any approved manner, in the present instance said bar being mountedin bushings 4 5 and having a coiled spring 6 interposed between the endof the bushing 4 and the presser-lifting collar 7, tight on said bar.

8 is the usual presser-lifter, pivoted bencath the presser-liftingcollar 7 and adapted to cooperate with the protruding end 9 of thepresser-lifting collar 7, which end extends through avertically-disposed slot (not shown) in the rear wall of the overhangingarm in the usual manner, whereby the presser-bar 3 is restrained againstturning.

10 is a sleeve secured to the lower end of the presser-bar 3, as byscrews 11, and extending from said sleeve are ears l2 13,within which isslidably mounted an auxiliary presser-bar 14.

is a collar ad justably secured to the auxiliary presser-bar 14, as by aset-screw 16. Interposed between the underside of the ear 12 and thecollar 15 is a coiled spring 17, which exerts a tendency to thrust saidauxiliary presser-bar 14 downwardly.

18 is a pin driven through ahole in the upper end of the auxiliarypresser-bar 14 above the ear 12, by means of which the downward movementof said auxiliary presser-bar is limited. The collar 15 is adjustableupon the auxiliary presser-bar by means of set-screw 16, so that thetension of the spring 17 may be altered to suit the requirements ofvarious materials.

19 is a presser-foot holder secured rigidly upon or formed integral withthe lower end of the auxiliary presser-bar 14. The front face of thisholder 19 is grooved horizontally, as shown at 20, to receive the ribbedshank 21 of a presser-foot 22. Said presser-foot 22 is held in place bya headed set-screw 23, which passes through a horizontal slot 24 in theshank 21 of said presser-foot 22 and is tapped within the presser-footholder 19.

25 is the needle-hole in the presser-foot, said'hole being somewhatelongated in a direction at right angles to the line of the feed of thematerial for the purpose of permitting a lateral adjustment of thepresser-foot.

The auxiliary presser-bar 14 is held against turning by a linger 26,which extends rearwardly from the presser-foot holder 19 and projectswithin a groove or slit 27, formed in the lower end of the presser-bar3.

28 is a feed-dog mounted upon a feed-bar 29 and actuated in the usual orany approved manner, as in accordance with the wellknown four-motionfeed, to cooperate with the cloth-presser infeeding the material.

ning at an extremely high rate of speed upon I the plain thin portionsof garments and to automatically increase the pressure upon thematerialby bringing into action the more powerful spring 6 when passingover seams of extraordinary or greater thickness.

In the operation of our improved clothpresscr thesleeve -lO- is adjustedon the presser-bar 3 so that the distance between the under side of theear 13 andthe upper edge of the presser-foot holder will be somewhatless than the greatest thickness'of seams likely to be encountered, sothat in passing over such thick or extraordinary seams the presserfoot22 will be elevated against the tension of spring 17 or to the limitoftits activityand sufficiently to close up the space between the upperedge of said presser-foot holder and the under side of the ear 13, andhence the presser -bar 3 will then yield, and thereby will be obtainedthe more powerful pressure of the spring 6, so that the feed will beuninterrupted. In this connection it will be ob served that the upperedge of the presserfoot holder affords a stop or abutment to limit theindependent upward movement of the auxiliary presser-bar. The downwardmovement of the auxiliary presser-bar 14 being limited by the pin 18,said auxiliary presser bar and foot will therefore be lifted clear ofthe throat-plate, &c., for the introduction of material to be sewedwhenever the presser-bar 8 is raised by action of the presserlifter 8.

By utilizing the collar 15 also as a stop to limit the downward movementof the auxiliary presser-bar,as is obvious, the stop-pin 18 might bedispensed with; but in this event the adjustment of the tension of thespring 17 would be interfered with and the device rendered lesssatisfactory.

Another advantage of great importance in machines to be run at a veryhigh rate of speed is the extremelightness of our construction, which isan essential feature in the successful operation of machines of thisdescription when working upon fabrics of very delicate texture.

In order to further diminish the weight of the auxiliary presser-bar, wehave made the same hollow, since every little weight which is dispensedwith facilitates the operationof the device.

What we claim is- 1. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a mainspring-pressed presser-bar, and a sleeve mounted thereon and havinglaterallyprojecting ears, with an auxiliary springpressed presser-barmounted in said ears and having a presser-foot holder, and a presserfootapplied to said holder, the spring-pressure of the mainpresser-barbeingin excess of the spring-pressure of said auxiliarypresserbar.

2. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a main presser-bar, with anauxiliary presser-bar, a presser-foot thereon, a sleeve carried by saidmain presser-bar and having ears in which the auxiliary presser-bar ismounted, means for limiting the vertical movements of said auxiliarypresser-bar, and differential springs applied to the main presser-barand the auxiliary presser-bar, whereby the pressure of the presser-footupon the material is increased when thick portions of the work areencountered and decreased upon the plain thin surfaces of the work.

3. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a main spring-pressedpresser-bar, with an auxiliary spring-pressed presser-bar, ahorizontally-grooved resser-foot holder on said auxiliary bar, apresser-foot adjustable in said holder, a grooved sleeve rigid with themain presser-bar, and having ears in which the auxiliary presser-bar ismounted, and a finger on the holder engaging the groove in the sleevefor restraining said auxiliary-presserbar against turning.

4. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a main spring-pressedresser-bar, with an auxiliary spring-pressed presser-bar, a sleevehaving a vertical groove or slit and rigid with the main resser-bar andhaving ears to receive the auxiliary presser-bar, a presser-foot holderon the auxiliary resser-bar having a horizontal groove, alaterally-adjustable presser-foot provided with a ribbed shank adaptedto fit within said horizontal groove in said resser-foot holder, and afinger on the holder engaging the groove or slit in the sleeve torestrain the auxiliary resser-foot from turning.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 30th day ofOctober, A. D. 1901.

GEORGE I-I. DIMOND. WILBUR F. DIAL. Witnesses:

ABBIE A. DONIHEE, F. W. OSTROM.

